The wrong definition of 'fling'
by Storybelle
Summary: Sam's not entirely sure how his brief fling with Dean's co-worker turned into a life-long commitment but much to Dean's annoyance, his baby brother is getting hitched. But weddings never run smooth. All Sam wants is to get married but he's going to have to catch a saboteur, separate his brother and the holy tax accountant and drag Gabriel's boss away from the whiskey first. Sabriel


When Sam Winchester got engaged, he was a coward about it and left his brother a voicemail.

"Sam!" Dean bellowed down the line. "What the hell are you doing with that deranged shortie? You swore to me over a year ago it was just sex! 'A fling' you said, just some fun, you said. Now you want to marry him? You _do realise _that means you'll be stuck with him for the rest of your life? What's the matter with you? Do you not remember the time he replaced the contents of my underwear drawer with a bunch of man thongs? Jesus, Sam…" A hand reaches out and cuts the voice off, mid rant.

"I think I made the right decision, telling him over the answerphone," Sam comments lazily. The warm body next to his stirs and drapes a hand over his hip.

"Just a fling, huh?" Gabriel asks, eyes bright. "So all you wanted me for was my body, hey, Sammy?" Sam grinned and put his hand over his lover's – no, fiancé's.

"Maybe," he hums, dropping his head to nuzzle affectionately at Gabriel's golden brown hair. Gabe's body is warm and pliant next to his and Sam notices for the hundredth time how well their bodies slot together. He's overjoyed by the fact that they can wake up together like this for the rest of their lives.

"You got gypped," Gabriel says. "The word 'fling' denotes a brief period of indulging one's impulses, brief sexual or romantic encounter. Key word being 'brief.' Not nearly two years, Sammy."

"Things changed. I picked the wrong person to have a fling with," Sam yawns suddenly. Getting engaged really wears you out, apparently. Could also be the three very enthusiastic rounds of sex they had last night to celebrate said engagement.

"'Cause I'm so not a fling-y type of person?" Gabriel inquires, eyebrows waggling suggestively. Sam snorts. If there was ever a person to briefly indulge whatever mad impulses he had, it was Gabriel.

"No. Because I fell in love with you." And it's true. The attraction had been instant, as had the connection, which had only grown the more time they spent together. And by the time Sam had realized it had never really been a fling, they were in a proper relationship and Gabe kept a toothbrush and a drawer in his apartment.

"You cocked up," Gabriel says fondly. "But you're not a very fling-y sort of person, Sam."

"Really not," Sam says proudly and he means it. Dean might be but he's always been a one and only kind of guy: even if after his high school girlfriend was killed in a freak accident, he thought he'd never find someone else he loved that much again.

"Jess would be proud of you," Gabriel says softly, twisting his head to look Sam in the eye. Sam can't help feel pain of her memory and the rush of love for both of them. Most people wouldn't be able to deal with what Gabriel has had to: but nonetheless Gabe has accompanied Sam to the graveyard on the first Sunday of every month for the entirety of their relationship. He knows that it's just something Sam has to do. He's fully confident he has Sam's love and devotion, even if a little part of Sam – the part that's still a smitten, love-struck teenager – needs to keep Jess close by.

"I hope so," Sam tilts Gabe's chin up to kiss him, and Gabriel goes willingly, even though this angle must be uncomfortable. They kiss for a while, languidly, lazily, content. The outside world doesn't exist, although soon they'll have to get up and start telling people of their engagement. Sam hadn't been able to wait to tell Dean and had rung him almost the moment Gabriel had said yes. It had gone through to answerphone and Sam had dithered about what to do.

Then he'd wussed out and left a message.

"Who should we ring first?" Gabriel muses, tucking his head under Sam's chin.

"You haven't rung your brothers, have you?" Sam asks, and thinks that as he told Dean mere minutes after they got engaged, it's only fair they tell Gabriel's two younger brothers next. Then parents, friends, other family members…his mother will probably want to put out an announcement, God forbid. They don't have a photo of them together where Gabriel isn't blinking, yawning or pulling a funny face.

"I love my brothers but I don't feel compelled to share my every little move with them," Gabriel yawns, hot breath against Sam's nipple, making him shiver, but not enough to distract him from the jibe.

"Our engagement is not every 'tiny little move.'" Sam reprimands. "Ring them. Then our parents. Bobby and Ellen and oh, Jo might not be awake just yet but…" Sam finds himself cut off by Gabriel's mouth and a loving hand winding its way into his hair.

"It's too early for that," Gabriel murmurs. "Stop thinking. Hush."

So Sam does.

Sam had truly not meant to fall in love. Anything other than all consuming, breathless, can't live without love would seem like an insult to Jess somehow, and anyway, Sam had just gotten out of a relationship with a woman who had made him very determined to not love anything ever again. Not that he'd loved Ruby, of course, but her actions had made him think that falling in love was something that was just not worth the pain.

"She's a bloodsucker," Dean had said ruthlessly, as he'd never liked Ruby anyway. "You're too good for her and I knew that from the start. Come get pissed with me. Open bar."

And that had been that. Several hours later, he'd set eyes on Dean's laid back, sarcastic, brilliant co-worker and he'd never looked back.

Dean hated that he'd been the one to introduce them. He liked Gabriel well enough as a colleague but not as someone who kept violating his little brother at every opportunity. And played horrible – if extremely funny – pranks on him every chance he got, now that Gabriel had access to Dean's flat and personal belongings.

But otherwise, everyone was thrilled with their engagement. His mother had - as he'd suspected – been overjoyed. She and Gabriel had a bizarrely close relationship, partly founded on the fact that she'd had to put Sam back together after Jess had died. John had accepted it easily enough, even looked a little pleased at the thought of his son getting married. All in all, the entire family responded with delight and queries and suggestions. Even Dean was dragged round to the idea, slightly grumpy, but when they were alone he raised his beer and toasted Sam's 'apple pie life'

And no, Sam did not tear up.

"Chocolate fountain?"

"No, Gabriel. Not at a wedding reception."

"I think it's a good idea! Look at this!"

"Who sent you that website? I'm going to kill whoever suggested that to you!"

"The groomsmen can wear Quidditch robes!"

"No!"

"Why did I have to come?" Sam bitches, as they're seated at a table in some hole-in-the-wall café.

"Apparently, they've got some new cheesecake to die for. Crowley was pretty insistent in me getting a review written for this place." Gabriel says, already sniffing the air like the gourmand he is. "And you know I hate eating alone."

"It's a wonder you're not shaped like a bullfrog," Sam says fondly. Gabriel puffs out his cheeks in mock rage.

"I know that during our relationship, sometimes I've been a little well covered. But I'm fairly confident that even if I can start hiding objects in my fat rolls, you'd still love me."

"I love your pooch."

"I have no pooch. I am perfectly well-proportioned right now. I'm getting in shape for the wedding."

"Some people have a beer belly, you have a gateau belly," Sam teases as the sullen teenage waitress deposits two menus on the tables and vanishes again. "And because you're you, it's only the finest, most upmarket gateau around using some expensive French chocolate."

"I don't have a pooch!"

"Well, you are older than me, it's to be expected you might let yourself go a little…"

"Sam!"

But that night, even though Sam had rolled up Gabe's t-shirt and poked at Gabriel's soft flesh, it didn't stop him from kissing every inch of it.

"Who's your best man, Gabe?" Sam asks lazily, one afternoon a few weeks after they got engaged. They're on the sofa in their house, watching one of Gabriel's favourite reality shows. Gabe's head is in Sam's lap, having his hair stroked: but to be honest, Sam's not sure who enjoys this more.

"Does that mean Dean is the maid of honour?" Gabe replies, without even taking his eyes off the television. Sam supresses a chuckle and then cards his fingers into Gabe's golden hair.

"You know what I mean. And neither of us is the bride."

"If one of us was going to be the bride it would be me. I don't think anyone would believe you as the wife in this relationship, Sasquatch," Gabriel says grumpily. Gabe would be perfectly normal sized next to anyone else but somehow, he ended up with Sam.

"Well, have you?" Sam presses. Gabriel shrugs with one shoulder.

"Hadn't really thought about it. Maybe one of my brothers."

"Well, if you pick one over the other, won't they mind?" Sam asks worriedly.

"Not really. They're not like that. Alfie might be a little too young to be a good best man though. And Cas is a little too stiff for the job. I don't know. The wedding's so far off. I've got time."

Sam snorts. Gabriel says the exact same thing when he's supposed to be working. The days tick by, filled with sex and eating and video games and not a word is typed.

"Yeah, yeah. Pick one soon, ok? We're gonna have to delegate if we want this wedding to be ready on time."

"I want to get married in September. It was this year or next year. I choose this year." Gabriel stretches like a cat and adjusts himself on the sofa, wriggling onto his side more so he can see the TV better. "We'll be ok."

Sam just strokes Gabriel's hair and smiles.

"Gabe!" Sam gasps, unable to do anything more than say Gabriel's name and tighten his fingers around his lover's hips. But much to his satisfaction, Gabriel is falling apart at the seams too. Sam loves it when he looks like this, perched above Sam, hair slicked back with sweat, caramel eyes half closed, mouth open just enough to pant Sam's name.

In response Gabriel only grinds his hips down on Sam's dick again and captures his moan with a kiss.

"Come on, Sammy, I'm the one doing all the work here," Gabriel says breathlessly, with a bright glint in his eyes. Sam scowls a little. Ok, so maybe not falling apart enough.

He hooks a hand underneath Gabriel's leg and flips them both, pinning his boyfriend into the mattress without ever separating their bodies. Gabriel gives a half shriek as Sam slams back into him, hips snug against Gabriel's ass. Sam grins smugly, shifting his weight appropriately and getting a good grip behind Gabriel's knee and hitching it higher and wider apart.

"Still got the breath for snarky comments?" Sam snipes back, but in truth he doesn't want Gabriel to stop. He loves Gabriel's voice, how it could go from brash and teasing to soft and seductive the next. With Gabriel around, he didn't have to worry about the quiet creeping back in again.

"You love my snarky comments," Gabriel groans, and Sam wonders if Gabriel can read his mind sometimes.

"God, stop thinking and fuck me."

Yeah, definitely a mind reader.

His receptionist hijacks him before he's even set foot in the surgery.

"Sam!" Becky yelps. There's a feverish glitter in her eyes and a red flush to her cheeks. She's clutching a familiar looking white envelope in her hands, and thick white card with gold filigree…

Oh fuck.

"You're getting married?" Becky squeals. "It's so exciting! I'm absolutely coming! I don't know if I'll have a plus one. Maybe Chuck? Are you inviting Chuck anyway? Because I know he writes for your brother's magazine. But if I invite him as a date, maybe that's kind of like, suggesting that I'm open for a relationship? He seems like the type to be frightened by my vibrant sexuality. "

"Becky," Sam groans, cutting her off. That's just too much information this early in the morning. "We're due to open soon. Where's Ava?"

"Not sure," Becky replies with a frown. "I'm so glad you and Gabriel are getting married, finally! You're _perfect_ together. Not like that Ruby girl." Her mouth twists into a frown. Sharp, cynical Ruby who had no time for other peoples' feelings had always been cruel to sensitive, happy Becky. But Gabriel and Becky got on like a house on fire. Often when Sam was working late and Gabe came to pick him up he'd find the two of them behind the desk in reception, sharing toffees and gossiping. At the thought of Gabriel Sam smiles a little bit. He may try to hide it but Gabriel's such a kind person.

"We are, aren't we," Sam says softly, Becky forgiven for her noisy chatter. He turns around and almost floats into his surgery where his nurse is waiting for him. But Ava is far too used to her love struck boss and threatens to stab him with the drill if he spends all day dreaming about Gabriel.

"Why did you invite her?" Gabriel explodes and Sam winces at the sound. For such a small person, he can hold a lot of rage.

"Gabriel, she's my friend," he tries to rationally explain but he knows it's no good. Gabriel is fiercely possessive.

"You slept together!" Gabriel seethes. He's pacing back and forth in their kitchen, as Sam sits quietly at the table and watches. They've been going over the seating chart and Sam had finally had to break to Gabe about what he'd done, in a moment of nostalgia a month ago in the supermarket.

"Once!" Sam protests. "Years ago. We knew at the time we'd never be any good as a couple and that was that."

"You don't invite exes to weddings, Sam! You just don't!" Gabriel stops in his manic pacing to run both hands back through his slick, golden hair. "God, do you know how that makes me feel?"

"No, it doesn't. She's not even really an ex and you like Madison…"

"Not at my wedding!" Gabriel yells, the sound echoing around the room and making Sam snap his mouth shut with a clack.

There's silence. Gabriel is gripping the back of a chair so hard Sam wonders if it won't just snap and splinter right there. Gabriel himself looks like he might snap, red in the face, panting and tense. Sam swallows – hard – and looks his lover straight in the eye.

"What's going on, Gabe?" he says and Gabriel just deflates, right then and there. He unclenches his fingers from the chair back and wearily rubs his eyes, before slowly dragging them down his face. His fiancé looks tired and maybe the stress of the wedding is getting to them both. Sam forgets sometimes that Gabriel is seven years older than he is, although he never acts like it. It's only times that this when he looks so bone-tired and washed out, that Sam remembers.

"It's just...you're mine," Gabriel explains. "And I know it's stupid but I like thinking you were only ever mine only. Not anyone else's."

Sam blinks for a few seconds and then silently holds out both arms. Without even a moment of hesitation, Gabriel walks around the table and steps into them. Gabriel just collapses, because he knows Sam will hold him up. Sam carefully tugs Gabriel into his lap – which he knows the writer secretly loves but will never admit to – and strokes a stray lock of hair back behind Gabriel's ear. Usually Gabe's hair is only soft and free of products just after a shower, before bedtime, but Gabriel has been worrying his hair so much with his hands it's starting to look dishevelled.

"You know, I think people will know that I wasn't waiting in a tower, dressed all in white, for you," Sam says and is a little gratified when Gabriel's lips lift into the smallest of smiles. "But…I get it. I do. Sometimes I feel the same way. Like, I can't bear the thought of others having touched you?" Gabriel lifts his head a fraction, from where he's been resting it on Sam's shoulder.

"Yeah. Just like that. And I know she's your friend but…Sammy, what were you thinking?" Gabriel groans. Sam winces again, out of guilt. He doesn't know what he'd been thinking. He hadn't seen her for so long and in a rush of nostalgia invited her on impulse. He'd thought it would be ok: they'd had a drunken one night stand over seven years ago, and had been just friends since. But he can understand.

"I know. I know but when I asked her I was just thinking that she was my friend and I…God, I'm sorry," Sam says in a rush. He feels Gabriel sliding his fingers up into his dark hair, carding them in deep and tangling them there. He can never bring himself to cut his hair because he knows how much Gabe loves doing that, trapping him, holding him close.

"I can un-invite her. If that's what you want. She'll understand," Gabriel purses his lips together for a moment. He knows that if he wanted Sam would do just that. But it's true he likes Madison: but his love of Sam makes him crazy sometimes. Makes him greedy. To be honest, he doesn't even want to share Sam on their wedding day, with all those eyes looking at his gorgeous new husband in his tux. But he has to give a little. Sam is not his only. He wouldn't love Sam as much as he does if their relationship was like that. He loves Sam _because_ he loves so many people, has such a big heart. As long as he loves Gabriel the most though, that's ok.

So after a moment, he shakes his head. "No, it's ok. She can come. To the reception. She's not coming anywhere near you before I get that ring on your finger." Sam laughs, though Gabriel didn't mean it as a joke, not really. But then Sam is leaning up and Gabriel bends down and their mouths meet in the middle. Gabriel enjoys this position for that very reason. Looking down at Sam from higher up is one of his favourite things: the way the light reflects off his hazel eyes, the fullness of his mouth, the way his hair spreads around his head like a halo. He may have the angel name but Sam's the one made from starlight and harps and frothy cloud bits.

Sam digs his fingers into the flesh of Gabriel's hip a bit. He knows full well that what will happen next is what always happens after they have a fight, and that this time is no different from the way Gabriel is licking into his mouth like a starved man. But when Gabriel starts pawing at his shirt, Sam shrugs him off a bit to cup his cheek and say something important.

"I love you," and as always, Gabriel's expression changes. Devoted and soft and maybe, just maybe, a little bit awestruck? But then the hunger is back and Gabe is sliding off his lap and tugging Sam with him by the belt loops. Sam more than goes willingly, finishing Gabriel's work and tugging off his shirt as he goes, dropping in onto the table.

"I know. Now take me to bed and prove it to me. Just no more exes, ok, Sammy?" Gabriel's eyes are light on the surface but underneath all that, possessiveness and the need to mark lie. Sam reaches over and undoes Gabe's buttons too, to leave them in the same state of undress.

Sam promises and lets himself be led up the stairs, where all there is, is thoroughly messing up Gabriel's hair, sweat on Sam's skin as Gabriel sucks him down and pressing in deep to where no else will ever touch again.

He sees her two months before the wedding. For a moment he's not sure what to do. He could hide, which would be easy enough. Pick up his order and slip away into the busy lunchtime crowd. She wouldn't notice, until he was long gone.

But that's not Gabriel's style. Sam might have done that all too willingly but he sure as hell won't. Not to this woman.

"Hello, Ruby," he says calmly, placing himself firmly in front of her. He's probably causing a disturbance but he doesn't care. These caffeine freaks can wait while he has a few words with the woman who wrecked Sam.

She doesn't look all that surprised to see him but by the slight lift of her eyebrow, she's curious as to why he's talking to her.

"Gabriel," she says coolly, taking her change from the barista. She's dressed in red – no surprise, she needs all the warning signs she can get – and her long dark hair is held back in a simple ponytail. It doesn't suit her, making her face that much harsher, fiercer. Not that there's much that can make Ruby look soft.

"How are you doing? You know, after you manipulated and cheated on Sam, like a little whore?" Gabriel's sweet smile counteracts the venom in his words, but he can be like that. No one ever expects him to be all vengeful wrath underneath that cute, golden exterior.

Her mouth opens slightly in shock before closing into a twisted smirk.

"So, I guess from your smug demeanour and that you're over here, talking to me, Sam's still sticking it to you, huh?" she says, moving out of the way of the counter to wait for her beverage. Gabriel follows her.

Well, it's not his fault. Sam wouldn't let him send her a wedding invite with 'I won' on the back.

"Sticking it well and sticking it hard, every night," Gabriel agrees cheerfully. Her hands twitch for a moment, like she'd like to wrap them around his neck but they're in public.

"Why? You jealous? We both know Sam's great in the sack," Gabriel says, noticing the way her jaw clenches in fury.

"Like it matters. He'll get bored of you soon. All he cares about is that dead little tramp," Ruby spits out the word _tramp_ and Gabriel feels a rush of fury on Sam's behalf. There's no way sweet, dead Jess deserves to be dismissed like that by this poisonous bitch.

"It's not that she's all he cares about, it's that she's far better and more worth caring about than you," Gabriel seethes. Ruby's mouth twists again and Gabriel notes that it does not make her pretty. It makes her look calculating and inhuman.

"Latte for Ruby!" a barista calls and deposits Ruby's cup to go on the counter. Ruby eyes Gabriel warily and goes to get it, cradling the warmth in her hands: or considering throwing in in Gabriel's face.

"What do you want, anyway?" she asks. "I don't have all day to throw insults back and forth at my ex-boyfriend's piece of ass."

"Oh, but I'm here to gloat," Gabriel tells her and lets all the smug happiness he has infuse his words. "Guess you didn't hear the happy news?" She stares back balefully but under her makeup, all the blood is draining from her face fast. She suspects what's coming.

"But then again you're not invited or friends with anyone who was, so I guess you wouldn't have," Gabriel says thoughtfully. He sneaks a peek at her and her eyes are little more than narrow slits. She could not look more snakelike if she tried.

"You…you're getting married? To Sam?" she says weakly and Gabriel can't stop the grin spreading across his face. Two months to the wedding and he still can't stop it when he hears it, knows that it's real and not some far off dream.

"Yeah. He popped the question a few months back," he says casually, while bringing a hand up to his neck to pull out the silver chain that rests next to his throat. On it is the shiny diamond engagement ring that Sam had presented to him that night. He loves having it there, right next to his heart. He loves it more during sex when Sam reaches down from behind to press a hand against his chest and traps it there next to his skin. The coolness of the metal heightens the heat of Sam's palm, both against the furious thudding of Gabriel's heart.

Ruby is watching the proof dangle back and forth from Gabriel's fingers. She seems struck speechless, almost horrified. Gabriel's a little bit surprised. He never thought that Sam was anything more than a meal, just an amusement to her.

"There was an announcement in the paper. But I guess you don't read anything not Vogue." This brings her back to life, colour rushing to her cheeks.

"Well, I certainly don't read that tat of a magazine you're on," she hisses and Gabriel smirks. He's won, in more ways than one. This little chit of a girl can't bother him.

"Hey, Anarchy's a good magazine," he protests, though he's not that bothered. Anarchy can sometimes be trash but it sells. "Anyway, I've got to get back, speaking of work. I'll tell Sam you said hi, shall I?" He turns to leave and then pauses and turns back to face her, unable to resist one last parting dig.

"So, I guess when you two were together, you knew that all he was thinking of was Jess? But when he's fucking me, I _know_ he's thinking of only me. Guess that's why I've got the ring and you're just some skank he used to know." And with that, he leaves Ruby behind, safe in the knowledge that it's forever.

Oh, yeah, Gabriel can bitch with the rest of them.

Best not tell Sam what he's done though.

"You know, if I can't insult your fiancé, it seriously limits my best man speech, you know," Dean comments grumpily from the lawn chair he's slouching on. Sam can only be bothered to half look at him disapprovingly. It's warm, there's beer and between John, Mary, Jody and Gabriel there's a pretty awesome spread about to be served.

"Funny anecdotes, yes. How we're an inspiration to all future couples, yes. That you introduced us, fine. But keep a lid on the insults, the innuendos and any cussing, alright? This is not a redneck wedding or anything from 'Don't tell the bride.'" Sam swigs his beer lazily. This pre-wedding barbeque was a great idea. Closest friends and family all here, with food and exclaiming over how much they're looking forward to the wedding.

Sam's a little jittery but that's to be expected. He half wishes the wedding wasn't going to be so big because he, unlike Gabriel, has a bit of stage fright. But once he gets up there and sees Gabriel's golden eyes he'll forget all about it.

"Well, there's two best men, right? Do we both have to do one?" Dean asks, scrunching up his nose.

"Yes. But you can be a maid of honour if you really want," Sam mumbles. He's too comfortable to think of insults that get more of a rise out of Dean than an exasperated eyeroll.

"So who's Gabriel's best man?" Dean wonders, gesturing with his bottle to Sam's fiancé at the other end of the garden. Sam cracks an eyelid open and watches Gabriel laugh with Mary while they toss salad. Gabriel is beautiful in this light, all warm and radiant, eyes shining.

And he's got awesomely tight shorts on too. Everything's coming up Sam.

"Cas," Sam says absently and lets his eyes drift shut again. Dean makes a small noise of confusion.

"What, some chick?" When it looks like Sam has truly dozed off Dean whacks him on the shins.

"Ow! Dean!" Sam scowls at where he's spilled some beer on his shorts and futilely rubs at it with his hand.

"Well? Is it some chick? Is she hot?" Dean probes and oh, Sam can see where this is going.

"No, Dean."

"No, she's not hot?"

"No, he's…well, he's kind of hot. Not your type though," Sam gives up on the wet mark and chugs on his beer again. Dean has an expression that means he's trying to think.

"So…it's a guy named Cas?"

"Castiel. Gabriel's brother? They're both named after angels." Dean slumps back in his seat, less interested now there's not untapped hottie on the horizon.

"I thought he had two brothers?" Sam idly peels the label off the bottle, wondering if it's possible to be driven insane by the smell of barbeque ribs.

"He does. But the youngest…"

"Yes?" Dean says impatiently.

"He's called Alfie," Sam says reluctantly. Dean stares at him for a moment and then cracks up laughing.

"Alfie? God, did they give up or something?"

"Something like that, yeah," Sam says, his own grin spreading across his face. "Gabriel is…well, Gabriel and apparently Cas isn't very angel like either, being…well, gay and upping sticks and emigrating to London with some older guy named Baz a couple of years back. So they named him Alfie. Irony is, he's the most angelic, butter wouldn't melt, Good Samaritan son-of-a-bitch around."

Dean continues to chortle at this so Sam good naturedly rolls his eyes and leans back, resting his head on his free arm (the one not holding the precious, ice cold bottle of beer that is.)

"So really, huh? Some guy named Baz?" Dean asks, when he's finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah, some hippy guy into orgies and stuff, Gabe said," Sam muses. Gabe hadn't been able to tell him too much of the story, he'd been laughing so hard trying to retell it. Cas hadn't been much help either when they'd met seven months ago, so embarrassed by the whole thing he was trying to forget about it.

"You sure he's not my type? Orgies and stuff, he's gonna be pretty awesome if he's into shit like that," Dean says with a grin, tipping his chair back. His freckles are getting more pronounced in this bright sun.

"He's really not," Sam says impatiently. "He was just in love and followed Baz because of it. They broke up not long after that. Cas is all suits and religion and protocol. According to Gabriel, it was like the weirdest fucking relationship ever." Dean looks crestfallen, like he was hoping for a new best buddy or something. But he and Cas will never click, Sam is sure of it.

"Well, that's boring," Dean says sulkily. "Are you sure he and Gabriel are related in that case, and the orgy-organising, drugs, rock 'n' roll guy isn't really Gabe's brother instead?"

"Pretty sure," Sam says with a smile.

Gabriel swans over at this point, clutching two new beers in hand for the brothers. He sits down on Sam's deck chair, which is almost impossible due to Sam's size, but works, because Gabriel prefers to drape himself across Sam's lap. Dean groans and almost snatches the new beer away.

"Must you do that in public?" Dean exclaims, in exasperation. Gabriel grins and almost leers before turning to Sam and planting a big kiss on his mouth. Dean's reaction is predictable.

"Ugh! God, make it go away!"

"Hello," Sam murmurs, wrapping an arm around Gabriel (because if he doesn't Gabriel will get too enthusiastic and wave his arms about and fall off the chair) and tugging him in closer. "Are you just over here to make Dean sick to his stomach or is there an actual purpose?"

"Nope," Gabriel says and tugs Sam back into another kiss. Dean makes a noise of disgust and gets up to walk away but Sam doesn't notice, arms full of Gabriel.

"How's lunch coming?" he asks, when they finally break apart.

"Good. Almost ready. Me and Jody got enough pie between us to make Dean happy and some seriously choice ribs."

"Good, good," Sam says, pressing a light peck to Gabe's slightly scruffy cheek. Jody spots them and cat calls from the other side of the garden.

"Come on, you lot, get your asses to the table!" she hollers, loud enough for the scattered party to hear her. Bobby, lounging in a hammock in the shade, nudges his cap up a little and sits up to glare at her.

"Good Lord, woman, we can hear you," he grumbles, pulling himself up. Dean, Jo, Sam, Gabriel and Garth all pick themselves up from their respective sunbathing positions and hurry over to the food.

"Woah," Dean mutters, eyeing the food that has been spread out across two large tables. His eyes grow even bigger when he spots the pies cooling in the kitchen window. "Woah!"

"Not til after dinner," Mary scolds her eldest son. "Sit." She wraps an arm around Gabriel and Sam each and squeezes them, looking a little teary-eyed. Sam hugs her back and then pulls out a chair dramatically for Gabriel. Dean snorts into his bun, where he's already piling on mustard and relish onto what will be the first of many burgers.

"Just wait until you get married," Gabriel promises him solemnly. "I'm going to make a speech about when you actually wore one of those man thongs to work."

"But I didn't have any other underwear left!" Dean is still wailing two hours later, when all the food is gone and dusk is starting to settle in, a half orb glowing faintly in the sky. The garden is illuminated by fairy lights and lamps, that Sam knows will be used for their reception.

"I know you liked it, really," Jo says, eating pickles right out of the jar.

Gabriel snorts from where he's curled up under Sam's arm. He'd started falling asleep shortly after the third piece of pie. It wasn't unusual for Gabriel to drift off immediately after a full meal.

Dean scowls at her but Jo only licks pickle juice off her fingers (ew) and smirks back at him. Around the table people are in similar states of 'eaten way too much.' Bobby is outright dozing underneath his cap and Ellen and Mary are talking quietly, at the far end, away from all the men (and Jo.)

"You don't mess with a man's underwear drawer," Dean grumbles. "That or his car."

"Look, I've never done anything to your car," Gabriel says bluntly. "If you have to suffer some man thongs to keep your precious baby untouched so be it."

"Where did you even get them from anyway?" Dean says, ignoring any threats made against his car.

"Baz!" Gabriel says cheerfully.

"You got them from your brother's ex-lover?" Sam asks sceptically, while Dean looks a little bit scandalised.

"He hadn't worn them at all, had he?" Dean asks, looking horrified.

"No. Well, I hope not," Gabriel says blithely. Sam covers a snicker as Dean's mouth falls open even more comically.

"Anyway, come on, Sasquatch," Gabriel says, wriggling out from under Sam's arm and stretching. "It's getting late and I still have that review to finish."

"The one that's due tomorrow, you mean?" Sam says, rolling his eyes. He's far too used to Gabriel's lax attitude when it comes to getting his reviews in on time. It usually involves a lot of coffee and finishing it sometime early morning.

"Well, there's sex before or after, but if we leave now, we can do it before _and_ after!" Gabriel whispers in his ear, under the pretence of bending down to grab his jacket. Sam couldn't stop the grin spreading across his face at that. Who was he to disrespect Gabe's work methods?

Sam has barely stood up before Mary is crushing him tight, her long blonde hair suddenly floating up his nose. He brushes them away before returning the hug.

"Oh, Sam," she whispers so quietly that he has to bend his head to hear her. "A month today you'll be married."

That sentence hits Sam hard. A month from now, the reception will be in full swing, Dean will be hitting on single guests, the cake will be cut and he and Gabriel will be _married._ Truly, honest to God, in the eyes of the law _married. _It sends shivers down his spine. His whole life is about to change. Every step he takes from them on will have Gabriel by his side.

"I'm so proud of you, honey." Mary's eyes are glistening a little bit. She remembers all too well the days when Sam wouldn't eat or sleep, unable to focus on anything but the ghost of a girl who wasn't there. She'd fought so hard to get him past the grief and the guilt of surviving when Jess hadn't. Dean never talked about that time when Sam had been so desperate to die with Jess: he hated thinking about how close he'd come to losing Sam.

"Jess'll be proud too," Mary murmurs and Sam unintentionally squeezes her. Hearing those words from her makes it more real: because Gabriel didn't know Jess but Mary did, for years. Mary fed them cookies after school and helped Jess with homework, as well as Sam, and loved Jess like a daughter. She wept at Jessica's funeral, laid flowers on her grave for months afterwards. Still treasures a picture of Jess on her sixteenth birthday.

That's probably the moment Sam knows he's finally let Jess go.

Mary reaches up and brushes away the single tear that's escaping. Sam can't help it: the emotion's too much. He's carried Jess so close to his heart for so long and finally having closure is overwhelming.

"You picked a good one," she says with a smile. "_Two_ good ones." Sam gives her a somewhat damp smile back.

"I did, didn't I," he says but it's not a question. He knows he did.

But that 'good one' is also very loud.

"Sam!" Gabriel hollers across the lawn. "Come on!" Sam smothers a chuckle as he squeezes Mary one more time and says his goodbyes to the rest of his family: a hug for Jo, a clap on the back from Dad, Ellen brushing a strand of hair behind his ear.

That evening, after Gabriel has finally finished writing and is spread snoring across his chest, Sam smiles into the darkness.

He's good. He really is.

The last month passes too quickly.

There's a flurry of panic when the band pulls out last minute but apparently Garth knows some guys who'll step in and are pretty good, despite their strange name. Sam's not sure how he feels about the 'Ghostfacers' playing at his wedding but Gabriel got his way with the chocolate fountain so really, he feels like he should let it go.

The day before is a rush of activity. Everyone's pitching in, even a reluctant Dean. Tonight Gabriel will go home but Sam is going to stay with Dean. Surprisingly this is Gabriel's idea.

"Bad luck before the wedding, Sammy," he'd said briskly a few weeks ago, after revealing he'd already cleared it with Dean. Sam's not sure about it, but he figures if he has any jitters Dean can kick them out of him just as well as Gabe could kiss them away.

Mary keeps tearing up, of course.

Jo wants to know if they really need bridesmaids, as they're both men (yes, they do and she has to wear the dress.)

Gabriel's relatives are flooding in from out of town. Cas will arrive later tonight and go to their house to help Gabriel before the wedding. Alfie's already here and has already made all of the women fall in love with him (Sam's a little scared Ellen might make off with him after the wedding.)

Sam's friend Sarah had offered to let them use her father's art gallery for the reception but Sam had wanted it here. The fairy lights from the barbeque are still here, but doubled, spread over trees and bushes. Tonight they'll illuminate everything in brilliant multi coloured light. There are huge Chinese-style lanterns scattered around, dangling from wires, high above their heads. Rufus and a bunch of guys from Bobby's garage are moving tables across the lawn. Madison and the other girls are placing chairs, instructed by Jody who's holding the seating chart.

The tablecloths and centrepieces will all be arranged tomorrow morning, before the wedding party gets back from city hall.

Sam sees a beer being waved in front of his face and takes it gratefully from Dean.

"So, little bro," Dean says, moving to sit down next to Sam on the porch swing. "How's it feel?"

"Dunno," Sam says honestly. "It doesn't feel real right now. Like it's happening to someone else?" Dean pulls a face.

"If I were marrying Gabe, I'd wish it were happening to someone else," Dean says with a straight face. Sam smacks his arm, but he knows Dean is only teasing. Taking the mick for Dean is as natural as drinking beer and driving.

"It's just…surreal that it's nearly here. It seems like it wasn't so long ago I asked him to marry me."

"Everything's gonna change now, Sam," Dean says softly. Sam nods.

"I know, Dean. But I think I'm ok with it." The brothers sit in comfortable silence for a while, rocking the old chair back and forth and drinking.

"I want to thank you, Dean." Dean looks up surprised, and sees Sam's face tense and solemn.

"What for?" Rufus can distantly be heard yelling at Garth for dropping a table on his foot and there's the chatter of the women in the kitchen, organising the drinks and food for tomorrow. The sun is beginning to set: soon Sam will leave and the next time he sets foot in his childhood home, he'll be a married man.

"For a lot of things. Being there for me. For always being there for me. Helping me through Jess' death even when I wanted to die. For making me see it was ok to date again. And mostly for Gabriel. I never would be here – be so happy – if you hadn't taken me to the magazine party that night and introduced us." Dean takes a swig of his beer, looking vaguely uncomfortable now that the talk has shifted to feelings.

"Yeah, well…" he says gruffly. "Gabriel isn't a bad guy. Lazy, loud-mouthed and crude…but I know he'll take care of you. That's all I ever wanted, Sammy."

"De," Sam uses his old childhood name for Dean. "You'll find someone, won't you? Like I have Gabe?" Dean squirms uncomfortably.

"I don't know, Sam. I'm not like you. I don't know if I could ever settle down like that." But Sam smiles. He knows his brother better than Dean knows himself. Dean will be fine.

"You will. I'm sure of it," Sam says confidently. "Really soon, I'll bet. Who knows? Maybe you'll find someone at the wedding."

"You're such a sap, you know that?" Dean says, smirking. "What, do you want me to be able to say to my kids, 'we met the day my little sister, Samantha, got married…'"

Sam hits him again.

"Oh, look, it's the blushing bride," Dean drawls, as Gabriel strolls up the steps towards them. As always, Sam's breath catches in his throat at the sight. The light plays of Gabriel's hair and the green in his shirt emphasises his golden eyes beautifully.

"You can't have it both ways, Dean" Gabriel says. "I'm the bride or he's the bride, pick."

"Nope. Gay wedding is gay wedding. So you're both the bride."

"Yeah? Well, starting tomorrow, you and I are gonna be related," Gabriel says sweetly. Dean's face is a picture. He grunts with disgust, slapping a huge hand on Sam's shoulder.

"We'll head out soon, yeah, Sam?" Sam nods as Dean leaves to help Rufus (poor guy can't catch a break and Garth has been banned from table duty) and Gabriel takes his place.

"I've got to go, Sam," Gabriel says. "Cas is arriving soon so I'm going to go pick him up and go back to ours." Sam puts his beer down so he can hold Gabriel's hand. The fingers under his are warm and familiar, ridiculously soft and manicured.

"Ok. Be careful," Sam says, leaning over to give his fiancé a kiss. Gabriel responds enthusiastically, probably aware they won't be able to kiss until the ceremony tomorrow. Sam understands: he wants to map out Gabriel's mouth and remember the sweetness right up until they're reunited tomorrow.

"I love you," Gabriel says into Sam's mouth, barely breaking the connection.

"Don't be late," Sam replies and Gabriel moves away to laugh.

"Is that it?" Gabriel puts his hands on his hips, pretending to be outraged.

"And I love you more than my own life," Sam says and hauls Gabriel back in by the scruff of his collar. The noises Gabriel makes after that sounds suspiciously like 'that's more like it.'

"Say hi to Cas for me," Sam murmurs when they finally, reluctantly part. Gabriel sneaks one last kiss, a slow brush of lips, Gabriel's tongue darting out to lap against Sam's bottom lip and then he moves away again. "And don't be late." Gabriel snorts.

"I won't be late to our wedding. Have some faith," Gabriel says. He's still playing with Sam's hair, obviously delaying the moment he actually leaves. Sam tugs his hand away – though not without regret – and gives him a gentle shove.

"You'll be late to pick up Cas." Gabriel pouts but stands.

"Miss you already, sasquatch," he says. Sam smiles and watches Gabriel walk away, into the house. He picks up his beer and swigs it thoughtfully.

"Dean!" he calls out suddenly.

"What?" Dean hollers back, looking slightly annoyed. The table arranging doesn't seem to be going well, even with the lack of Garth.

"We need to go now! I've got something to do!" Dean drops the table, looking relieved to be free from the wedding preparations but unluckily for Rufus, it lands on his foot again.

"Let's get out of here before that crotchety old man beats my head in with one of the centrepieces," Dean mutters, taking all three steps up to the porch at once and manhandling Sam through the back door. "Where do you want to go anyway?"

"This is fucking creepy," Dean says, shivering a little in the cool evening air, although Sam suspects it's from the location, not the weather.

"This is something I have to do," Sam explains. "One last time."

"One last time?" Dean asks, eyebrows raised.

"Before the wedding. I have to tell her something." Dean only nods once: but whether he really understands or not, Sam isn't sure. He's glad his brother is here though.

Dean was extremely unenthusiastic about breaking into a graveyard but he'd gone along with it anyway. He'd refused to let Sam do this by himself, and was now following Sam in the fading light to Jessica Moore's grave.

Sam has been here so many times he could walk it in his sleep. He finds her, peaceful as usual, next to an old woman who'd died in her sleep and a young man, a victim of cancer. Her headstone is bright and gleaming even in this light: her parents take good care of it. Her photo makes Sam's heart clench a bit but it's not as painful as it once was. She's so young and beautiful there.

"Hey, Jess," Dean greets her as though she were alive and standing right there. "Anyways…I'll be over there. Give you some privacy." Sam nods and watches Dean's departing back before carefully lowering himself to the ground.

"Sorry I haven't visited in a while. Been a little busy," Sam starts and then hates himself for making excuses to her. He takes a deep breath, crosses his legs and starts again.

"So anyway…I'm getting married tomorrow. It's weird but it's really happening. Once upon a time I was certain I wouldn't marry anyone but you."

"Even when you died, I was determined to keep that promise; to not love anyone else ever, because it wouldn't compare a fraction to how I felt about you. And for a while that was true. There were girls and boys and not once did one of them get past that door." The wind whips across the graveyard suddenly, ruffling Sam's hair and making him shiver.

"When I met Gabriel I thought it would be just sex. A quick fuck to get rid of the taint of Ruby. But it wasn't like that. It was never like that. I…I don't know how to explain it." Sam stops suddenly, at a loss. How do you explain why you love someone? Can something that sublime even be put into words?

"In a lot of ways Gabriel's nothing like you. He's rude and sarcastic, he loves playing tricks. He eats sweets by the bucket load and doesn't care about the consequences. He teases Dean and never writes his reviews on time and hogs the bed, even though he does _not _need that much space. But he's kind and funny and has this _light_ that reminds me of you."

"I know I went back on my promise. The one that I made to you when I was seventeen? It was right here, two weeks after you died. I swore I'd never fall in love again. When I realised I'd fallen in love with Gabriel I hated myself for betraying you like that. Poor Gabe didn't have a freaking clue what was going on." Sam winces, remembering that time. He'd tried so hard to push Gabriel away, wracked with self-loathing and guilt. But Gabe had stayed. He shouldn't have but he stayed.

"But tomorrow he'll be my husband. And I can't regret that. Part of me will always wonder what our life together would have been like…but I'm glad I've found love again. I hope you are too." Sam is crying. He doesn't know when he started but when he feels wetness falling onto his wrist he realises he must have been for a while. He hopes that maybe, one day, he can think about the girl and the life he lost without crying. He's pretty sure Gabriel can heal that wound, no matter how much time it takes.

"I just wanted to say that I won't be visiting as much from now on. I'll come see you – for the rest of my life, I imagine. Because you were the first person I ever loved. We were always together. I promised myself in the ninth grade that I would marry you one day. Which saying it aloud now makes me seem like a girl. Glad Dean's not around to hear me say that." Sam laughs a little at that (it sounds funny with his now blocked up nose) and imagines her smile. Tries to imagine Jess grown up, instead of the teenager he had known.

"But I have to learn. You're dead. I'm not. I won't stop loving you. I'll always love you. But I have to carry on living, and now I have someone else to look after. You remember Gabriel: I end up having to peel his face off his desk after he falls asleep when he's meant to be working."

"I just wanted to see you once more before tomorrow. I needed to tell you that I love you and I will _never_ forget you…but I need to move on. It took a long time but I'm finally there. I'm happy now. I hope you are too." Out of the corner of his eye Sam can see Dean hovering uncertainly nearby, worried about Sam but not wanting to intrude.

"I've got to go now. Think my best man is getting freaked out by all the ghoulies and ghosties lurking around here," he tells her. "He's not exactly one for fighting things that go bump in the night." He pulls himself shakily to his feet, stretching his long limbs as he goes. He hurriedly rubs at his eyes, although he suspects Dean has already seen.

"Good bye, Jess," he tells her and then turns and walks away.


End file.
